The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Radical plans to change city streets after virus
Council asks for £460k to make Dundee more appealing to cyclists and walkers
Road closures, 20mph zones and congestion-busting measures in Dundee are under way in a bid to encourage more post-lockdown workers to walk and cycle.
Council chiefs have submitted a £460,000 bid to the Scottish Government to support temporary changes to make active travel more appealing for commuters after lockdown.
Both UK and Scottish governments have warned of the dangers of using public transport during the pandemic and have encouraged active travel as an alternative.
Bosses are proposing 20mph zones in central Broughty Ferry, the Perth Road area, Douglas and Fintry, closing Union Street to vehicles and congestion-busting measures in Douglas
Terrace, Broughty Ferry Esplanade and Magdalen Green.
Alan Ross, SNP, convener of the city development committee, said the measures should help as “we move into a new normal”.
Dundee council bosses have moved to make the city’s streets more walker- and cyclist-friendly to encourage workers to use active travel when lockdown eases.
Temporary 20mph zones, closing Union Street to traffic and additional barriers and signs to reduce congestion are at the centre of a £460,000 bid to adapt the city for changing travel habits.
Both UK and Scottish governments have warned of the dangers of using public transport during the pandemic and have encouraged walking and cycling as an alternative.
The city’s temporary plans have been criticised for not going far enough, with calls for permanent changes, more support for active commuters on the Tay Bridge, and support for struggling public transport operators.
Alan Ross, SNP, convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee, said: “If our bid is successful I hope the new temporary measures encourage more people to use more sustainable modes of transport to get about, not just in the current circumstances but also as we move into a new normal.”
The 20mph zones are planned for central Broughty Ferry, the Perth Road area, Douglas and Fintry.
In the city centre, Union Street will be closed to vehicles.
Temporary barriers, signs and filters are planned for areas where there are already high levels of pedestrian and cycling activity. These include Douglas Terrace, Broughty Ferry Esplanade and Magdalen Green.
A spokesman for the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board said it had ruled out some proposals after taking professional advice.
A 20mph scheme had already been agreed for sections of the B946, running through Newport, but it is understood lockdown may have delayed its introduction.
Dundee West End councillor Richard Mccready, chairman of the city’s Labour Group and transport partnership Tactran, welcomed the bid but called for permanent changes.
He said: “It is disappointing that funding is only available for temporary measures. I want to see permanent measures to promote active travel.”
The Scottish Government’s £10m Spaces For People pot could provide funding. It is aimed at encouraging local authorities to create “pop-up walking and cycling routes”.
The Dundee bid follows the launch of a public consultation on similar plans in Perth.
Angus Council officials are gauging public support for similar initiatives among its communities while Fife Council chiefs were “exploring options” but raised concerns the money available is “sufficient to develop a meaningful scheme.” A Perth consultation is open.
Ferry ward councillor Craig Duncan, Liberal Democrat, said the 20mph speed limits would be “mandatory rather than merely advisory” and called on the council to go further on the speed limited zones.
Fife Tay Bridgehead councillor Jonny Tepp, also vice-chairman of the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board, said the bridge manager’s view was that “designating a pop-up carriageway for cycling use could not be done cheaply or safely”.
He will write to the bridge manager asking to look at other ways of supporting active travel.
“The release does not mention whether consideration was given to reducing the speed limit on the bridge to 30 or even 20mph and whether or not this would make any difference to the assessment about the safety of a separate designated cycling lane.”